Zong Awarded 2009 Best Practices Award for Product Innovation

New Zong⁺ Service Recognized as Leading Innovation in the Mobile Payments Industry by Frost & Sullivan

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zong (www.Zong.com), the leading mobile payment platform used by online gaming and social networking web sites, has received Frost & Sullivan’s 2009 Best Practices Award for New Product Innovation in the Mobile Payments category for its Zong⁺ next-generation mobile payments platform.

“Zong+ brings benefits via significant flexibility to the merchants and the end-user, and can be an industry growth driver – an important piece of criteria for our Best Practices recipients.”

Zong+, launched in October 2009, is the first online mobile payment platform to combine the convenience of carrier-based payments with the flexibility of card payments. The new service allows merchants to significantly increase revenue by reducing transaction fees and enabling higher average purchase prices, while allowing consumers to make more convenient and secure payments using their mobile phones. In addition, Zong+ allows Zong to address new market segments, win additional merchants and accelerate its end-user adoption rate benefiting all value-chain participants.



“Being honored by Frost & Sullivan with a Best Practices award for Zong+ confirms the innovative qualities of the service and the value-add it has brought to merchants, wireless carriers and consumers alike,” said David Marcus, founder and CEO, Zong. “We are thrilled by the recognition of our ongoing commitment to our merchant partners, end users and the purchase experience.”



In order to determine the recipients of these awards, Frost & Sullivan analysts conduct a rigorous selection process, which includes evaluating industry challenges and rating companies’ abilities to address them by innovating elements of the product, leveraging leading edge technologies, adding value for key stakeholders, and increasing customer value while further penetrating the market. This industry accolade is awarded by a company that has been dedicated to the analysis and forecasting of high-tech markets since its inception in 1961.



“Zong was the clear winner in the mobile payments category, as they delivered a smooth and flexible payment mechanism -- evidence to Frost & Sullivan of their ability as a company to innovate and continue to penetrate their market,” said Vikrant Gandhi, Senior Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Zong+ brings benefits via significant flexibility to the merchants and the end-user, and can be an industry growth driver – an important piece of criteria for our Best Practices recipients.”



Frost & Sullivan is a research and consulting firm that covers 10 industries and 31 markets, and maintains 31 offices with more than 1,700 industry consultants, market research analysts, technology analysts, and economists globally.